D’Angelo’s music was imbued with the influence of Black women

Female collaborators, muses and ministers shaped D’Angelo’s voice, arrangements and emotional acuityThe first time D’Angelo reached me, he wasn’t alone. His voice was entwined with Erykah Badu’s on Your Precious Love, a duet that felt like an offering being passed between sweethearts. I was 14, the edge of adolescence, opening to my own life. Their voices sounded delicate, blooming – almost shy. A cover of a classic Motown record written by Ashford & Simpson and sung, most memorably, by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, D’Angelo and Erykah’s churchy call-and-response nodded to the past while low-pitched boom-baps reflected contemporary trends on the FM dial. It was a crossroads sound, working two ways at once, and the blend, the hybridity of it all, heralded the future.Before long, D’Angelo’s 1995 debut Brown Sugar got shared and traded and analyzed among my girlfriends. Though we were deep in hip-hop’s high-flossing, shiny suit era, we noticed how he insisted on tenderness. It was the ’90s; crack and the crime bill had ravaged our neighborhoods and hurt our pride. His visuals seemed to seek to restore it. His music videos had a relaxed, smoky cool; clips such as Lady and Me and Those Dreaming Eyes of Mine showed women in every hue of brown whirling beneath warm lights and D’Angelo’s own devoted gaze. I had a dozen first loves, just as many fears, and a bouquet of dreams for the future – D’Angelo’s songs seemed to catch my currents. Continue reading...

Comments

Culture

Colleen Hoover misses Regretting You film premiere over ‘unavoidable surgery’

Independent

Comments

Similar News

Remembering D’Angelo, a Classicist Who Moved Us Forward

Listen back to Emeli Sandé's cover of D'Angelo

D’Angelo was a singular singer who reached the heights of soul, funk and R&B

Remembering D’Angelo’s Musical Art of Seduction

D’Angelo’s Genius was Pure, and Rare

D'Angelo: A musical pioneer who shaped a whole new genre

‘The architect of Black Gen X sonic feeling and eloquence’: D’Angelo’s 10 greatest tracks

Lauryn Hill pays tribute to ‘genius’ collaborator D’Angelo after his death at 51

How D’Angelo Made His Masterpiece, ‘Voodoo’

D’Angelo’s ‘Untitled’ Video Supercharged and Derailed His Career

Experimental, sensual and political, D’Angelo radically redrew the boundaries of soul music

D’Angelo: 14 Essential Songs

D’Angelo, soulful and reclusive R&B visionary, dies aged 51

D’Angelo, Grammy-winning neo-soul pioneer, dies aged 51

Grammy-winning singer D'Angelo dies

R&B icon D’Angelo dies aged 51 after ‘prolonged and courageous cancer battle’

D’Angelo, R&B Grammy-award winning singer, dead at 51

D’Angelo, Acclaimed and Reclusive R&B Innovator, Dies at 51

Culture

Colleen Hoover misses Regretting You film premiere over ‘unavoidable surgery’

The Hunger Games stage adaptation branded ‘chaotic’ as theatregoers complain of delays and accessibility issues

Stranger Things fan favorite will not star in season five, Duffer brothers confirm

Sombr hits back at viral video slamming his concert behavior — but his response might have just made things worse

Joan Armatrading composes classical piece that is ‘love letter’ to Birmingham

Mock the Week’s return is vital – but there’s a huge problem

‘Best crime drama ever’ is being rebooted almost 20 years after launch

Joe Jonas responds after fans claim viral video shows him doing cocaine on stage

Pokémon Z-A: could this be a high point for the Pokémon franchise?

Line of Duty star’s psychological thriller soars up Netflix top 10 after being quietly added

Emma Corrin: ‘It was moving to play a queer person sure of their identity’

Oscar Isaac reveals Frankenstein director’s explicit directions during filming

K-pop star apologises after performing ‘inappropriate’ song at celebrity breast cancer awareness event

When famous people die, we honor them with ugly bronze statues. Why?

Noel Fielding splurged thousands on impulse buy after doing ‘so many drugs’

100 Nights of Hero is the film I wish I saw as a girl

Love is Blind couple announce birth of baby boy

Kevin Federline’s vapid memoir is just another means to kick Britney Spears when she’s down

Gayle King shares surprising take after being seated next to Fox News host on flight

Ben Stiller warns current political climate making comedy ‘more challenging’

How long are roundtables really in the Traitors? Former Traitor Paul Gorton explains

Hollyoaks at 30: stars reunite in Liverpool as soap marks milestone with explosive twist

The Unbelievers review: 'A tour de force performance by Nicola Walker'

Jonathan Ross admits ‘unseen’ Celebrity Traitors moments that have been cut out

Secrets of Back To The Future revealed 40 years later

Strictly’s Dianne Buswell hits back at claims her partner Stefan Dennis’s early exit was ‘planned’ due to pregnancy

Bollywood actor Govardhan Asrani, famous for cult Sholay role, dies aged 84

HBO drama declared ‘best show of the year’ after riveting season finale

Twitch issues statement after popular creator Emiru grabbed by fan at TwitchCon

Wicked: For Good’s Cowardly Lion voice actor revealed after director Jon M Chu’s tease

OPINION - Improv comedy is cool in London again (yes, really)

OPINION - The 12 most staggering revelations from Virginia Giuffre's book, Nobody's Girl

Strictly’s Dianne Buswell slams fan claim Stefan Dennis’ exit was ‘planned’ for pregnancy

Bob Vylan brands 90s rockstar’s response to Glastonbury set ‘disgusting’

Stefan Dennis withdraws from Strictly Come Dancing due to injury

US chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky dies aged 29

Kevin Federline has held off writing about Britney Spears. Until now

Colman Domingo cast as cowardly Lion in upcoming Wicked sequel

Virginia Giuffre would see Andrew giving up titles as a victory, co-author tells BBC

American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky dies at 29

Is Tim Robinson the funniest man alive?

Keira Knightley wore ‘same clothes every day’ to avoid paparazzi after being called slurs

Folk legend Kenny Loggins shreds Trump for using his song in bizarre AI poop bomb video

Sabrina Carpenter’s SNL performance called out for cultural insensitivity by Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama

Jennifer Aniston reveals unconventional items she asked NBC boss for after Friends’ success

Harry Potter actors reunite for ‘family dinner’ nearly 15 years after final film’s release

Eric Dane to guest star as ALS patient on Brilliant Minds amid health struggles

WWE star stripped of world title with plans to crown new champion

Daisy May Cooper dashes fans’ hopes revealing gutting This Country reboot update

‘Nightmarish hellscape’ 00s horror film streaming on Prime Video in time for Halloween

Bob Vylan on 'death, death to the IDF' chant:&#160;'I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays'

'Matter of time' before gang targeted Louvre, expert says - and UK museums could be next

Bobby Vylan on Glastonbury IDF chant: 'I'd do it again tomorrow'

Radio presenter rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after major heart attack

Keira Knightley wore ‘same clothes every day’ to avoid paparazzi after being called slurs

Sabrina Carpenter’s SNL performance called out for cultural insensitivity by Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama

Colman Domingo to voice Cowardly Lion in Wicked: For Good

Hollywood pushes OpenAI for consent

Roberta Alexander, Widely Acclaimed Soprano, Dies at 76

Bob Vylan on 'death, death to the IDF' chant: 'I'd do it again tomorrow, twice on Sundays'